Vette is one of those rare games that will definitely offer you a pleasant surprise. It really doesn't look like much at first, but once you put the pedal to the metal, it turns out to be a very enjoyable experience.
The premise is simple, try to race across a very impressive recreation of San Francisco (almost as good as Midtown Madness 2’s recreation) and reach the finish line before your opponent. While it is fairly easy to win, the ability to take different routes to your destination adds a bit of strategy to your races as you try to plot out the fastest path.
This adds a nice little bit of difficulty to a normally easy game. Your "short cuts" can do well for you or sometimes backfire...just like in real life.
In Vette, you are given a choice of four different actual models of the Corvette (generation C4 since this was made in the 80s). You can either choose a stock C4, a more powerful ZR-1, the aftermarket tuned Callaway Twin Turbo, or the 250mph rocket known as the Callaway Sledgehammer (yes, that was an actual model of the Corvette). The only thing about these cars is they only differ in performance. From the outside in the game, you literally can’t tell the difference between a stock C4 or a Sledgehammer. Then again, this was
1989, so in a way that doesn’t really surprise me. Along with the four choices of Corvettes, you also have the choice of racing either Porsche 928, Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari Testarossa, or a Ferrari F40.
When it comes to graphics, for what I’ve seen in other games of the same time period, Vette truly stands out amongst the crowd. Vette, compared to games like Test Drive and Crazy Cars, takes place in a 3d rendering of San Francisco. A very accurate rendering, might I add. While you most of the time will not be able to spot anything recognizable, you can still tell the developers tried their best to build a good model of the city by the bay. Another interesting thing is how the scenery and backgrounds change according to where you may be in the city. For example, on the Golden Gate Bridge you’ll se a background of the city skyline along with a bit of the coast. Once you get on the highway, everything changes, so now it looks as if you are travelling through the city along the interstate. Some might say, that is not something you’d want in a driving game, I think is does well in capturing the city with limited hardware. People who live in San Francisco will appreciate the details. Others will just find them to be standard racing backgrounds, but overall, it is pretty cool. The controls are easy to learn and handling such hot sports cars is quite fun.
All in all, Vette is a very impressive racing game for its day, impressive enough to say it is better than Test Drive (which it is). If you are looking for a nice little game that’ll keep you entertained for a good while, Vette is a good choice to download.
